Voet, van voren gezien 1540 - 1593

Aurelio Luini made this drawing of a foot in the late 16th century. Luini was working in Milan, at a time when the Catholic Church was reasserting its authority in the face of the Protestant Reformation. The institutions of the church controlled artistic patronage, and favored highly idealized depictions of the human body that could serve a didactic purpose. Luini's detailed study is a demonstration of technical skill, but also an engagement with the classical artistic tradition that Renaissance artists were keen to revive. This drawing is likely a study for a larger composition of a religious subject, as an artist like Luini would have been expected to show technical proficiency to get commissions. The position of the foot may give us a clue to a larger story, as well as the background figures scribbled in the background. By looking at the work of Luini and his contemporaries in northern Italy, we can get a clearer understanding of how art was used to shore up religious institutions and power in this period.